BOOKED: Man arrested for leaving the scene of his girlfriend's accident, driving while suspended

April 30, 2012

By

Nicole Ott

COLUMBIA CITY â€” A Columbia City man was arrested Sunday after leaving the scene of his girlfriendâ€™s accident and operating during a lifetime suspension, two felonies.

According to a witness, Lyle Orr, 46, of 517 N. Oak St. in Columbia City, allegedly drug his unconscious girlfriend off the road after she crashed her moped in the area of CR 300 E and Old Trail Rd.

â€śHe stated he witnessed a man drag a female by one arm off the roadway and into the ditch,â€ť Indiana State Police Trooper Joel Lemmonâ€™s case report said.

When Lemmon arrived on the scene, he said he found an unresponsive female, Vicki Johnson of Columbia City, lying on her back in the ditch.

â€śI could see blood coming from her ear and could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from her breath,â€ť Lemmon said in his report.

Though breathing, Jackson was barely able to open her eyes after Lemmon attempted to bring her to consciousness. It was later determined that Johnson had a skull fracture.

â€śI noticed a large blood stain in the middle of the roadway, just to the south of where the body was laying,â€ť Lemmon said. â€śThere were drag marks of blood to the north side of the road to where she was lying.â€ť

According to Lemmon, a nurse at Parkview North in Fort Wayne said Johnsonâ€™s skull fracture was not related to the accident.Johnsonâ€™s blood alcohol level was recorded at .35 at the hospital, more than four times the legal limit.

Orr went missing for several hours. After checking multiple locations, Lemmon received a call from Luna, who said Orr called him and told him he was hiding in his house on Oak St.

Though Orr appeared to be driving a moped, legal under his habitual traffic violator (HTV) license suspension, the bike was technically qualified as a motorcycle, and Orr was charged with operating while suspended (Class C felony) on top of his charge of leaving the scene of an accident (Class D felony).